Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Mark Cuomo,  born December 6, 1957 is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. He was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Born in Queens, New York, he is the son of Mario Cuomo, the 52nd Governor of New York (1983–1994).

Early life, education and career

Cuomo was born in Queens, New York, the eldest son of Mario Cuomo, and Matilda Raffa, daughter of Charlie Raffa. He is the older brother of ABC News journalist Chris Cuomo.

Cuomo graduated from Saint Gerard's School in 1971 and Archbishop Molloy High School in 1975. He graduated from Fordham University in 1979 and Albany Law School in 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a top aide to his father during his 1982 campaign for Governor. He then joined the Governor's staff as one of his father's top policy advisors, earning $1 a year.

From 1984 to 1985 he was a New York assistant district attorney. He briefly worked at the law firm of Blutrich, Falcone & Miller. He founded Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (HELP) in 1986 and left the law firm to run HELP full-time in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, during the administration of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, Cuomo served as Chairman of the New York City Homeless Commission, which was charged with developing policies to address the homeless issue in the city and to develop more housing options.

Cuomo was married to Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, for 13 years. They had 3 children together, Cara, Michaela and Mariah. They separated in 2003 and divorced in 2005. He is currently dating Food Network host Sandra Lee.

Andrew Cuomo was appointed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development as Assistant Secretary in 1993, a member of President Bill Clinton's administration. After the departure of Secretary Henry Cisneros at the end of Clinton's first term under the cloud of an FBI investigation, Cuomo succeeded him as HUD Secretary in January 1997 after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate, serving until 2001 when Clinton's administration ended.

In 1998, Cuomo's lauded work in the department garnered speculation that he could challenge Senator Al D'Amato but he ultimately declined, saying that he had more things to revamp in the Department. Instead, Congressman Charles Schumer won the Democratic nomination and ultimately defeated D'Amato. Cuomo was also mentioned as a candidate for U.S. Senator in 2000 but deferred to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In 2000, Cuomo led HUD efforts to negotiate an agreement with the United States' largest handgun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson that required Smith & Wesson to change the design, distribution and marketing of guns to make them safer and to help keep them out of the hands of children and criminals. Budgets enacted during his term contained initiatives to increase the supply of affordable housing and homeownership, and to create jobs and economic development. These include: new rental assistance subsidies; reforms to integrate public housing; higher limits on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration; a crackdown on housing discrimination; expanded programs to help homeless people get housing and jobs; and creation of new Empowerment Zones.

Though Carl McCall was the favorite of the Democratic establishment, Cuomo initially had more momentum and led in fundraising and polls. A turning point in the campaign was on April 17, 2002, when Cuomo said "Pataki stood behind the leader. He held the leader's coat. He was a great assistant to the leader. But he was not a leader. Cream rises to the top, and Rudy Giuliani rose to the top." The remarks were widely derided, and even his father Mario later admitted it was a blunder.

On the eve of the state convention, he withdrew from its consideration when he concluded that he had little chance of its support as opposed to the favored party candidate, State Comptroller H. Carl McCall. Later, in September 2002, on the all-but-certain defeat that loomed in the state primary, again at the hands of McCall, Cuomo withdrew from the race, but his name remained on the ballot, as it did in the general election, as the Liberal Party of New York candidate. In the primary, the withdrawn candidate only received 14% of the vote. In the general election, he received 15,761 votes, out of 4.7 million cast,

New York Attorney General campaign

Some expected him to run for Governor of New York again, as a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2006, but Cuomo decided against a run when New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer entered the race in late 2004. Cuomo declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for New York State Attorney General in 2006, and on May 30, 2006, captured the Democratic Party's endorsement, receiving 65 percent of the delegates' votes. Though Cuomo won the endorsement, former New York City Public Advocate Mark J. Green, Charlie King, a two-time candidate for lieutenant governor, and Sean Patrick Maloney, a former aide to President Clinton, also earned places on the Democratic primary election ballot.King dropped out of the race before the primary and endorsed Cuomo.

Cuomo won the primary with a majority of the vote, defeating his nearest opponent by over 20%. Clinching the Democratic party nomination was considered a significant rebound following his unsuccessful and unpopular 2002 gubernatorial campaign and at the nominating convention, June O'Neill, the Democratic chairwoman of St. Lawrence County, called Cuomo "New York's own Comeback Kid.

Student loan inquiry

In 2007, Cuomo has been active in a high profile investigation into lending practices and anti-competitive relationships between student lenders and universities. Specifically, many universities steered student borrowers to a "preferred lender," which resulted in those borrowers incurring higher interest rates. This has led to changes in lending policy at many major American universities. Many universities have also rebated millions of dollars in fees back to affected borrowers.

On June 10, 2008, Cuomo announced that three major Internet service providers (Verizon Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint) would "shut down major sources of online child pornography" by no longer hosting many Usenet groups. Time Warner Cable ceased offering Usenet altogether, Sprint no longer provides access to the alt.* hierarchy, and Verizon limiting its Usenet offerings to the Big 8. The moves came after Cuomo's office located 88 different newsgroups that contained child pornography.

See also: Possible appointment choices for the New York Senate seat

After Hillary Rodham Clinton became Barack Obama's choice for the position of U.S. Secretary of State, Governor David Paterson was charged with appointing a temporary replacement until a special election in 2010 for the conclusion of her Class 1 seat. Cuomo was seen as a leading contender for this appointment (in fact, his name was first mentioned dating back to the 2008 Presidential primaries). Caroline Kennedy (the first cousin of Cuomo's ex-wife) was another leading contender, but withdrew for personal reasons two days before Paterson was set to announce his choice, leaving Cuomo and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as the most likely appointees. On January 23, Paterson announced he was naming Gillibrand to the Senate.

Cuomo was a candidate for Governor of New York in 2010. On September 18, 2009, advisors to President Barack Obama informed Paterson that the President believed Paterson should withdraw his 2010 gubernatorial candidacy, stepping aside for "popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. On January 23, 2010, the New York Daily News reported that Cuomo would announce plans for a gubernatorial campaign at the end of March. Later reports indicated he would announce his gubernatorial campaign coinciding with the state Democratic Convention in late May. On May 22, 2010, Cuomo announced his run for governor in a video posted to his campaign website. Cuomo announced his choice for Lt. Governor on May 26, 2010; Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy was offered, and accepted, the position on the ticket alongside Cuomo.

In the November 2, 2010 general election, Cuomo faced Republican Carl Paladino, a Buffalo-based businessman who had been heavily supported by the Tea Party movement. Cuomo won the election for Governor of the State of New York.

In 2011, he gained national attention after he successfully fought for gay marriage rights in New York. In keeping with a campaign promise, Cuomo signed same-sex marriage legislation on June 24, 2011 following an "intense public and private lobbying campaign. After same-sex marriage legislation passed the New York State Senate, Cuomo remarked, "The other states look to New York for the progressive direction... What we said today is, you look to New York once again. New York made a powerful statement, not just for the people of New York, but for people all across this nation. In a post-vote press release, Cuomo added, "New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted... With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers.